Maintaining a patient airway is essential and a prime tenet of the ABC's of resuscitation. Numerous human conditions can create upper airway obstruction that mandate interventional treatment. Some conditions that can create upper airway obstructions include conditions related to anesthesia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), cardiopulmonary collapse and convulsions. Multiple strategies exist to maintain an airway. These include Esmarch technique (bimanual jaw-thrust), nasopharyngeal (Wendl) airways, oropharyngeal (Guedel) airways, bag and mask, supraglottic airway (SGA) that include the laryngeal mask airway (LMA), endotracheal intubation and mandibular advancement/repositioning devices/appliances (MAD's/MRA's).
It would be desirable to provide a device and method to maintain airway patency, and particularly the oropharynx and retropalatal space by providing an improved device that allows for lower jaw protrusion and/or distraction. It may also be desirable to have a device to maintain airway patency that can also supply oxygen and/or monitor end-tidal carbon dioxide wave form and respiratory rate.